Thornwood High School - Thunderbird Yearbook (South Holland, IL)

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ii .f Hmm mf? ers, who died very unexpectedly just after finishing a movieg Mae West, the original blonde bombshell, fam- ous for her words C'mup 'n' see me some time. Also passing away this year were Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, better known as the Shah of Iran, Alfred Hitchcock, Alan Ludden, emcee of Password Plus, Jesse Owens, four time Olympic gold medalist, and the man who made a mockery of Adolf Hitler's attempt to showcase Aryan supremacy, and the great Schnoz- zola himself, Jimmy Durante. LOCAL In an attempt to combat rising vio- lence in the city of Chicago, Mayor Jane Byrne retaliated by making a surprise move into one of the city's most feared housing projects, Ca- brini Green. For several months, Mayor Byrne came and went at her pleasure, attempting to keep the peace she had acquired while living there. One very major problem facing Chicago and its many suburbs was the possibility of an RTA strike which would leave the vast urban area without a mass transit system. Governor Thompson and the State legislature attempted to cope with the statewide transportation prob- lem and to find monies to keep things moving in Chicago. SPORTS For the first time ever, Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, had a world champion baseball team by the WW J, 1,1 Waal- M9i',?QFFi1f1 0 wil, 75 Wiiffiig 90010: . . :fi A f hs, name of the Philadelphia Phillies. They swept the series, led by Mike Schmidt, who was named MVP of the 1980 World Series. In the Super Bowl, the underesti- mated Oakland Raiders made their move and showed the world that they could win the most unforgeta- ble, gruelling game in a football player's career. Under the new ownership of the Jerry Reinsdorf Corporation, the Chicago White Sox acquired such veteran players as Carlton Fisk and Ron Le Flore, who kept the team on the move and vying for first place. But, unfortunately on the other side of town, the Chicago Cubs were find- ing it very difficult to win games, until the strike which paralyzed ma- jor league ball in 1981. FEATURES 145

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Iranian hostages free after 444 day ordeal INTERNATIONAL We are not really heroes. We work for the Government and just did our job, was the way former hostage, Sergeant Joseph Subic ex- pressed his views. But Americans, weary of bickering and division, had been looking eagerly for heroes who could inspire a healing outburst of spontaneous affection and patrio- tism. The nation welcomed the freed hostages back from their 444 days of captivity with a whirlwind of emo- tions. Yellow ribbons were tied to virtually everything: trees, lamp- posts, public buildings and even the White House. In Poland, strike threats contin- ued throughout the year with Lech Walesa heading the labor move- ment. On what appeared to be a normal day in the Vatican city, a Turkish terrorist made an attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II, the world - Catholic and non- Catholic - grieved and prayed for a healthy and quick recovery. NATIONAL In November of 1980, all the world became Ronald Reagan's new stage after winning the Presidential elec- tion by a landslide. Later on in the year, shortly after 12:15 p.m. on a rainy April day, a pudgy young man with unkempt blonde hair stepped off a Greyhound bus and sat restlessly in a seat. He seemed in no hurry to go anywhere. Less than three hours later, this man, John Hinkley, Jr. made an at- tempt on the life of President Rea- gan. After several hours of surgery, the President emerged in happy spirits despite the pain and proceed- ed to a near-miraculous recovery for a man of seventy. Tragedy struck in Atlanta where over thirty bodies of Negro boys were found, with few clues to uncover the perpetrator of the slayings. More advances in technology were made by the successful firs1 flight of the space shuttle, the Voy ager I. This year also saw the deaths oi many famous people and some well- loved entertainers: John Lennon the imaginative wordsmith wh stressed the themes of peace an love in the songs he wrote for bot . the Beatles and himself, Peter Sell- s 5 E E 2 2 5 144 FEATURES

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Reagan hopes for new future With the hostages still being held in Iran and the economic stability of the country quickly declining the 1980 presidential election campaign began. Candidates rode their band wagons in hopes of landing on the front steps of the Pennsylvania Ave- nue mansion. As in every election, promises were made, platforms were elected, and scandals arose. The biggest battle raged in the Democratic Party between Jimmy Carter and Edward Kennedy. After all the nominations at the conven- tion were counted Jimmy Carter was again chosen to represent the party. Though the Republican field was replete with numerous candidates, of the nominees the choice was obvi- ous, ex-California Governor Ronald Reagan was the easy victor during the convention. B During the final months of cam- paigning the two candidates battled oratorically for the office of Chief Executive. Name-calling finally led to a nationally televised debate between Carter and Reagan to dis- cuss the many pending issues that plagued the election. The hostage crisis and the economy were two of the major concerns of the American public. Besides Reagan and Carter, an in- dependent candidate, John Ander- son from Rockford, Illinois, made his bid for the presidency but was over- shadowed by the heavy political campaigns of the other two candi- dates. Before the elections the polls showed that many voters remained undecided about their choice for the presidency, but as November fourth rolled around Americans obviously had made up their minds. Ronald Reagan won by a landslide sweeping the electoral votes with a total of 489 to Carter's 49. Reagan became the oldest President to enter the White House at the age of 69. By 8:15 NBC T.V. projected Reagan and his run- ning mate George Bush as the win- ners and soon after Carter and Mon- dale conceded the election to Rea- gan. As January approached the President-elect promised an eco- nomic recovery program and a stronger defense unit due to the Iranian hostage incident, 146 FEATURES f ,,,,. ,- ,nh ,sf I -. 'xv'